Feed producer pledges $2M for alternative feed R&D

Global feeds manufacturer Skretting is earmarking US$2 million in 2020 to fund the development of alternative feed ingredients for the aquaculture industry.

The pledge is being made at the 6^th Our Ocean Conference (OOC) being held in Oslo this week “with the aim to create clear pathways for these much-needed innovations to reach sufficient scale in order that they can deliver long-term value to aquaculture supply chains and end-consumers,” Skretting said in a statement.

The application of sustainable novel ingredients in aquafeeds – both through replacement and interchange – are recognised as a viable means to achieve increased flexibility and lower the dependence on finite marine ingredients, the company added.

“For aquaculture to meet its full potential, the sector will need access to sufficient volumes of these novel ingredients. At the same time, Skretting recognizes that these technologies are only able to reach scale through collaborative efforts,” said Trygve Berg Lea, sustainability manager at Skretting. “This Our Ocean commitment is focused on overcoming this significant barrier and providing a fast-track to market for these innovations. The hope is for the first few novel raw material sources to achieve scale-up in 2020.”

Through Skretting’s support of the Our Ocean 2019 programme, Erlend Sødal, Skretting’s global operations director, will join a panel of experts to focus on the topic of foods and livelihoods from the ocean. Specifically, this group will look at how to ensure access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods from the ocean that meet dietary needs and food preferences for a growing population, as well as how to build food value chains that can deliver from healthy oceans to healthy people, Skretting said.

Our Ocean Conference 2019 is organized by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and hosted by Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide. Approximately 500 delegates from around the world are expected to attend the conference, including heads of state, financial institutions, young leaders, civil society organisations and representatives from the scientific community.